Container closure



.mvENToR ATTORNEY Oct. 20, 1936. B CQHN CONTAINER oLosURE Filed July 5,1933 Patented Oct. 20, i936' UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE nand GutmannCo.,

poration of New York Application .my a, 193s. sum No. man

s calm. (cl. ais- 43) The invention relates to container closures, andmore particularly to a closure of the re-seal type in which the skirt isprovided with screw threads or other means adapted to co-operate withcomplementary means upon the neck of a bottle or container to facilitatethe attachment and removal of the closure and cause the necessarycompression of a sealing disk or gasket to form an effective seal aboutthe top of the container neck.

Prior to my invention, it has been av common practice to produce suchclosures or caps having a drawn metal shell, the skirt of which hadformed therein the screw threads or other attaching means. In suchclosures or caps the l5 lower edge of the skirt was rolled outwardly toform a stiieuing bead and also give a finish to the bottom of the skirtand avoid the presence of a sharp edge.

It has also been the practice to provide such a closure or cap with adrawn metal outer shell conforming to, inclosing and secured to theusual cap structure.

In the co-pending application of Jesse Gutmann, Serial No. 595,001,there is disclosed a closure or cap having a non-metallic tubular membermade of bakelite or other material inclosed by a drawn metal shell, thesealing disk or gasket being positioned between one end of the tubularelement and the top of the metal shell. 30 This construction of cap ishighly effective particularly in the packaging of materials which mightbe deleteriously affected in the event of contact with a shell having ametal skirt.

This construction of 'closure or cap is more ex- 35 pensive to producethan the ordinary `re-seal closure or cap and has a field of use limitedto the packaging of special materials. The rigidity of the tubularelement in this type of closure has the advantage that there is nolikelihood. of such 4o a deformation of the attaching members as willinterfere with a proper application of the closure or cap to a containerby machines used for this Purpose.

With the above conditions in mind, I have provided a container closureor 'cap having a bi-part all metal shell, the inner tubular element ofwhich is provided with means by which the closure or cap may be attachedto a container neck and the outer element of which presents a. smoothex- 60 terior surface throughout so as to permit it to be decorated in amanner to give an attractive nnish to the closureor cap or have appliedthereto matter indicating the origin of the contents of a container. v

tubular elementissoiormedasto I5 Theinner assure -an accurate centeringthereof in'relation to the outer element or shell proper and a stiifen-`ing not only of the tubular element, itself, but of the outer shell.

The outer shell prevents elongation or other s deformation of the innertubular element and serves as a protection for the edges thereof.Furthermore, the stiffening means 'at the end of the tubular elementadjacent the top of the outer shell forms an effective seat for asealing disk or l0 gasket, between which seat and the top of the shellduring the assembling operation, the gasket may be compressed to avoidlikelihood of the seepage of the fluid contents of a container betweenthe top of the metal shell and the reinforc- 16 ing flange of thetubular element, into the space between the two elements.

In a closure or cap embodying the invention, it is possible to use thingauge metal ln the tubular element which may be of hardermetal stock 20than the outer shell, if desired. because of the facility with whichthinner stock can be worked.

The 'construction and arrangement of the two parts of the shell are suchthat during,v the as-y sembling operation, suillcient friction will bedeveloped between the stiffening flanges of the tubular element and theskirt of the outer shell to ensure a desired permanency in the relationof these parts to permit the turning of the closure or cap as a whole,by the capping machine, thetop reinforcement of the tubular elementprevents ing distortion of the skirted shell during the applyingoperation by the machine.

The invention consists primarily in Aa container closure embodyingtherein an inner tubular metallic element open at both ends. and havingadjacent each end thereof an outwardly directed reinforcing flange andattaching means interme-f diate said flanges, an outer element, having atop closing one end ofthe tubular element, and a skirt spaced from saidattaching means with its lower edge formed about the opposite end ofsaid tubular element, and a packing gasket or disk adjacent the topofthe outer element; and in such other novel features of construction andcombination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, andmore particularly pointedv out in the claims hereto appended.

.Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a container closure embodying the inventionpartly in section, the neck of a bottle being shown in relation thereto,in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the innertubular 55 element prior to itsassembly in the completed closure or cap:

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the outer element prior to its assembly inthe completed cap;

FlgAisaviewofamodifledformoftheinvention in which the top of the outerelement is normally domed; and

4I"ig.i5isafragmentary portionofthesealing gasket and supplemental topshown in llg. 4 with a portion of the stem of an applicator connectedtherewith.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the innertubular element il is provided with screw threads i i intermediate theends thereof. At the top of the element is formed an outwardly directedflange I2, the edge of which is curved downward slightly t flllitlt thentting of the inner element in the outer element during the assembly ofthe closure or cap. At the opposite end `of the bottom of this tubularinner element is an outwardly directed ilange It having a downwardlypresented curved portion adjacent its outer edge to facilitate theforming of the lower edge of the skirt of the outer element about thisedge and further to form a shoulder Il against which the edge of theskirt may be formed so as to bring said formed edge outside of the innerplane of the tubular element and also conceal the rough edge of theskirt. I

'I'he inner tubular element whether it be made of sheet metal formedabout a mandrel, or of a tube, may be made of fairly thin gauge metal.When made of sheet metal, no seamin'g of the abutting edges is required,since the mounting of the inner element in the skirted outer elementwill bring these edges into abutting relation to each other and holdthem in this relation..

40 'I'he outer cap element consists of a drawn metal shell having a topII extending across the open top of the tubular element Il and a skirtIt, the inner form of which engages the edges of the stiening flanges l2and I3, the portion I1 of the lower edge of this skirt being formedbelow the lower flange Il and conformed to the curved portion thereof asdescribed.

The maximum diameter of the inner element III is such as to cause theflanges I2 and il to have a close sliding t within the skirt Il of theouter element, and during the assembling operation, the skirt will bedrawn inwardly of the closure or cap sufficiently to develop the desiredfrictional contact or bite between the skirt the edges of said flanges.

Preferably, the outer element has a smooth exterior finish throughout,any decoration `or other matter being lithographed on the metal sheetsof which this element is: made, in a manner well known in the productionof container closures.

In the completed product, the inner and outer elements of the shell forma composite shell, the parts ofk which are so firmly and rigidlyconnected, notwithstanding that they are produced one entirelyindependently of the other, as to permit the turning of the composite,vshell as a unit. If desired, the lower flange Il and the portion Il ofthe skirt may be bonded together by an adhesive. This, however, is notessential.

The outwardly directed top flange l2 may be utilized as a seat for asealing disk or gasket il which may be of natural or composition cork orany other of the various materials commonly used in vre-seal closures.This disk or gasket is positioned between the said ange I 2 and the topIl of the outer shell and the portion adjacent the edge thereof ispreferably firmly compressed vbetween said flange and said top, in amanner sition thus developing a continuing top pressure upon the gasketthroughout the area of its contact with the top of the neck of acontainer. l.

In the embodiment of the invention shownh Fig. 4, the outer element isformed with an upwardly dished top as indicated at is, there beingpositioned between this top and the cushion disk i8, a supplementalmetal disk top 20 functioning in the same manner, as the top i5 in the,form of the invention shown in Fig. 1, in developing continuingstresses after the application of the' closure to a container. In otherrespects, the

construction shown in said figure is the same as in Fig. l, and the samereference numerals are applied to the corresponding parts. A

When using a "domed top for the shell, as shown in Pig. 4, space isafforded above the supplemental top 2l for the accommodation of theupset end 2|` of an applicator rod 22 as shown in Fig. 5.. A

At 23, I have shown, in dotted lines, a'fragmentary portion of the neckof a container provided with means consisting of screw threads 24adapted to be engaged by the screwthreads I i of the inner tubularelement l0.

While I have shown and referred to the use of screw threads as the meansfor attaching the closure to a container, it will be understood that anyother well known form of attaching means may be used so long as theformation thereof is such as to draw the closure downwardly and causethe desired .compression of the sealing disk o r gasket I8 with theturning of the closure.

By the construction of composite shell herein irrespective of varianceof the thickness of different sealing disks or gaskets so as to avoidpossibility of the failure to form a proper seal about the neck of acontainer by reason of the engagement of the lower edge of the skirtwith the bead 25 about the neck of a bottle.

Furthermore, any possibility of such deformation of the inner tubularelement as will interfere with the accurate fitting to the attachingmeans 2l, is impossible since the outside of the tubular element I0 isprotected by the skirt il from contact with mechanisms of the capapplylng machine and this tubular element is firmly held between theformedportion I4 of the skirt Il and the gasket Il.

In the event o i', irregularities of the attac ment means 24, theco-operating attachment means Il upon the tubular element will conformthereto, particularly-as intermediate the anges l2 and I3 said tubularelement may flex outwardly slightly by reason of the-space between sameand the skirt l5. Such ilexure will never be material, but it isdesirable to give a certain degree of flexibility to the tubularelement, so

that it will readily accommodate itself to the cooperating attachingmeans.

When attaching the closure to a container, vertical stresses are appliedto the outer shell by the downward movement of the inner element throughthe formed lower edge thereof, the compressive stresses applied to thesealing disk or gasket being developed as a result of this downwardmovement. The skirt I4 being perfectly smooth, there is no possibilityof elongation of the tubular element even though it be made of fairlythin gauge metal stock. By making the inner element and the outerelement of two separate parts. it is possible to form each of theseparts with great accuracy by means of special tools, and yet secure arigid composite structure. It is possible to assemble the sealing diskor gasket within the shell in the manner described although this is notessential to the invention.

It will be noted that the ange I2 notwithstanding the spacing of .thewall of the inner element and the wall o f the outer element willresistany crushing stresses by the head of the applying machine upon the shellby reason of the location of this flange.

Thevcushion disk I8, if it be mounted in the shell in the manner hereindescribed, will assist in firmly securing the two elements of the'.bipart shell in relation to each other.

It is not my intention to limit the invention' to the precise details ofconstruction and combination of parts, it being apparent that such maybe varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is:-

1. A container closure embodying therein an inner tubular metallicelement open at both ends and having adjacent each end thereof, anoutwardly directed reinforcing ange and attaching means intermediatesaid flanges, an outer element, having a top closing one end of thetubular element, and a skirt spaced from said attaching means with itslower edge formed about the opposite end of said tubular element, and apacking gasket or disk adjacent the top of the outer element.

2. A container closure embodying therein an attaching means with itslower edge formed about the opposite end of said tubular element, and apacking gasket or disk positioned between one of the end flanges of saidinner tubular element and the top of the outer element.

3. A container closure embodying therein an inner tubular metallicelement open at both ends, an integral outwardly directed top flange, an-outwardly directed bottom flange and attaching means intermediate saidanges, said bottom flange having a downwardly curved portion forming ashoulder outside of the ,innerl face of said inner element, an outerelement having a top closing one end of the tubular element, and a skirtspaced from said attaching means with its lower edge formed about thecurved portion of said flange and against said shoulder, and a packinggasket or disk adjacent the top of the outer element.

4. A container closure embodying therein an inner tubular metallicelement open at both ends and having adjacent each end thereof anoutwardly directed reinforcing flange, and attaching means intermediatesaid flanges, an outer element having a top closing one end of thetubular element, and a skirt engaging the edge of both of said flangesand having its lower edge formed about the opposite end of said tubularelement, and a packing gasket or disk adjacent the top of the outerelement.

' 5. A container closure embodying therein an inner tubular elementformed of sheet metal open at both ends and having adjacent each endthereof, an outwardly directed reinforcing flange and attaching meansintermediate said flanges, an outer element, having a top closing oneend of the tubular element, and a skirt spaced from said attaching meanswith' its lower edge formed about the opposite end of said tubularelement, and a packing gasket or disk adjacent the top of theouter-element.

6. A container closure embodying therein 'an inner tubular elementformed of sheet metal open at both ends and having adjacent each endthereof, an outwardly directed reinforcing flange and attaching meansintermediate said flanges, an outer element, having a top closing oneend of the tubular element, and a skirt spacedl from said attachingmeans with its lower edge formed about the opposite end of said tubularelement, and a packing gasket or .disk positioned between one of the endflanges of said inner tubular element and the top of the outer element.

BENNO COHN.

